Dan Lauria and Patty McCormack (Photo by Russ Rowland)
Reviewed by Amanda L. Andrei
Odyssey Theatre Ensemble
Through September 28
RECOMMENDED
Once I had a conversation with my dad that consisted almost entirely of references to Clint Eastwood. Back then on a Western movie jag, I was asking my septuagenarian dad for film recommendations, and our conversation quickly veered into topics of Americanness, masculinity, strength, and adventure as portrayed by each of his favorite Westerns. More importantly, my grizzled and normally reserved father changed. As we discussed the iconic Man with No Name, his eyes gleamed and his voice rose: in remembering these movies and where he was when he saw them, he became young again. No, not just young—vibrant. Sparkling.
It’s this kind of vitality that Dan Lauria’s Just Another Day delights in, making this two-hander comedy a charming portrayal of “emeritus years” through reminisces of Hollywood’s Golden Age.
A man, a woman, a bench. Framed upstage by the rounded edges of an old school television screen, this deceptively simple setup designed by Pete Hickok (based on an original design from Christopher Swader and Justin Swader) conjures a humble limbo space — a park or a train stop — that is eventually revealed to be a supervised area for elders. In this place, an anonymous Man (Dan Lauria) and Woman (Patty McCormack) banter and jive, recall bits and pieces of their former lives, and recreate stories and skits in the absence of memory.
While Lauria and McCormack are more popularly known for their roles in TV and film — the former for his role as the Dad in the ‘90s series The Wonder Years and the latter for her chilling character in the 1954 thriller The Bad Seed — they work wonderfully together onstage. McCormack is exquisite as the assertive Woman, a former TV comedy writer and a poet who playfully holds her own against the chummy Man, also a comedian and writer in a past life, one whom Lauria infuses with warmth and mischief.
While the romanticization of the bygone Hollywood era felt too rosy at times, it was still fitting given the issues of mourning, aging, and memory loss — how much more liberating to remember the sweet times than the bitter. Furthermore, director Eric Krebs adeptly balances the slowness of nostalgia with the briskness of the couple’s chemistry and distinctive dialogue. The Woman often speaks in grandiloquent phrases that might come off as ludicrous if not for McCormack’s grounded presence, and the Man’s jokes could be dismissed as groaners if not for Lauria’s good-natured timing and grin. But on another level, their words — and Lauria’s writing — serve as a homage to a stylized vernacular from both screen and stage, two places where language can thrive and excite.
I was more aware of the audience than usual at this play. I had invited my dad, but because of a health issue, he declined, and I felt the emptiness of the seat next to me quite acutely. As I listened to the wistful murmurs and knowing mmm’s during black-and-white projections of classic movie stars introducing each act, I wondered what my dad’s own stories of these luminaries would be. And during intermission, I overhead a couple debating the tastes of today’s young generation against their own: a love of manga and video gamesß in contrast to the Great American Songbook.
Clearly, Just Another Day is not merely a gentle, humorous depiction of an elderly couple. It is an offering to evoke longing and thoughtful conversations about where we have been and where we are going. Even when eras end and absences are palpable, the denouement need not be dire. The fadeout can be beautiful: a song, a spotlight dimming into darkness. A golden age as a finale of grace.
Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., West LA. Fri.-Sat., 8 pm, Sun., 2 pm; thru Sept 28. Runtime: one hour and 45 minutes with one ten-minute intermission. https://odysseytheatre.com
